Vehicle armrests are provided in most automotive vehicles for the comfort of passengers. An armrest assembly is often provided between the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat. Such an armrest assembly can be used by either the driver or an occupant of the front seat. Sometimes the armrest assembly has a lid that opens to allow access to a storage compartment. The lid is sometimes assisted by a biasing spring to achieve an open position. Known armrest assemblies with such spring-assisted opening that can be pivoted open by the driver toward the passenger, or alternately by the passenger toward the driver require cross bars both forward and rearward of the pivotable lid in order for the lid to latch to the cross bars. While suitable for their intended purposes, the cross bars of such armrest assemblies take up space, and limit options for other functions of the armrest assembly.